COMPETITION: Sparkle DVD giveaway!

 To celebrate the 11th February release of Whitney Houston's final film before her tragic death last year, we are giving away a copy of Sparkle on DVD, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Featuring original songs by R. Kelly, Sparkle has an all-star cast including six time GRAMMY Award® winner Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard), "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, singer CeeLo Green, Carmen Ejogo (Away We Go), Tika Sumpter (Think Like a Man) and Derek Luke (Captain America: The First Avenger). This is a soulful story of an aspiring singer/songwriter (Sparks) who defies her overprotective mother (Houston) to form a musical trio with her sisters, only to encounter the temptations of success.

Like to know more? Find Sparkle on Facebook
 

 
 

How to enter?

To win, simply answer the question below in the Rafflecopter and also 'like' Vintage Owl Boutique's facebook page. You can earn more entries by following us on Twitter or even tweeting about the competition.

The competition ends on 11th February 2013. A winner will then be randomly picked and notified by email.

Question - The film 'Sparkle' contains original songs written by . . . . . ?

A. CeeLo Green
B. R. Kelly
C. Jay-Z

I wish you all the very bestest of luck!

Big love,
AKA Hooting Miss Owl



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Sparkle is out on DVD 11th February from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

All images courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

COMING SOON : The Great Gatsby

Carey Mulligan playing Daisy Buchanan and Leonardo di Caprio as Jay Gatsby

I've been slowly seeing publicity shots and posters being released for The Great Gatsby (the stories sixth trip to the pictures) and I'm starting to get quite excited about this new adaptation by Baz Luhrmann. The character posters are beautifully shot and I love the art deco design with black and gold colour scheme. Luhrmann has apparently kept the story line very close to the acclaimed novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, whilst still adding his recognisable magic. The most famous screen version of The Great Gatsby so far was in 1974, starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford.

The storyline follows the life and times of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby (Leonardo di Caprio) who has questionable business ethics and an unhealthy obsession with married Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan, in what I'm sure will be another stand out performance). It's told by Gatsby's neighbor Nick (Tobey Maguire) who recalls his encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties.

In classic Luhrmann style, Jay-Z has been recruited to score the film (leading a host of pop icons such as Lady Gaga and Kanye West) in a move typical of the director of Romeo & Juliet and Moulin Rouge to bring a modern, contemporary feel to the films 1920's setting. You can hear a glimpse of the soundtrack in the recently released trailer (preview below). 

So, not only has Baz Luhrmann got Jay-Z on board with his new creation but he also has Miuccia Prada designing the costumes. The Italian designer previously collaborated with Luhrmann on the 1996 adaptation Romeo and Juliet, designing the suit Leonardo di Caprio wore for the wedding scene.

This time round Miuccia Prada has collaborated with costume designer Catherine Martin (also Luhrmann's wife) and chosen 40 dresses from past Prada and Miu Miu collections and adapted them into 1920s-style flapper numbers for the film. Four gorgeous illustrations of some of the dresses chosen have been released and here they are below...

Orange organza dress enriched with plastic fish scale-like sequin embroidery. Inspired by the Prada A/W 2011 collection

Multi-striped sequins dress with a plastic and trimmings embroidery at the bottom. Inspired by the Prada S/S 2011 collection.

Knee-length dress in octane-coloured tulle lined in matching silk cady.

Radzmire dress with bustier embroidered with pearls, stones and sequin fringes. Inspired by a revisited silhouette of the 1920s, it is made contemporary by the use of modern fabrics and embroideries of the 1950s.

I think these few pictures give us a glimmer of what to expect. Personally I think the designs are absolutely stunning and I can't wait to see what else the costume department has in store.

This long awaited  and much anticipated film will be gracing our cinemas in the UK on 17th May 2013. I seriously can't wait! How about you?

AKA Hooting Miss Owl

Mia Farrow and Robert Redford in the 1974 adaptation

Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan in 1974 adaptation

Carey Mulligan and Leonardo di Caprio

Leonardo di Caprio, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton

Tobey Maguire and Leonardo di Caprio

All images courtesy of google here and here

What I Wore: Blustery walk on Dunstable Downs

I am wearing

H&M leather skirt // Re-worked Vintage tux shirt // Kate & Aud necklace 

Vintage faux fur coat // Vintage velvet turban // Necktie made by myself

Underground creepers // Matalan bird print scarf

We spent our Christmas in Mr D's hometown, Dunstable, a quiet market town in Bedforshire. It's been hit quite badly by the recession and there are closed down shops up and down the high street. You can almost imagine tumble weed rolling down the high street, like in an old Western, it's that quiet. Dunstable may have lost its trade but it still has one little gem. 

One sunny but blustery morning, after having several days of rain, Mr D Snr, Molly, myself and a four legged friend went for a walk over Dunstable Downs, part of the Chilterns which covers an area of 322 square miles stretching from Bedfordshire to Oxfordshire. Husband grew up playing in these hills and it was lovely to see Molly enjoying them too! The views are breathtaking up there and it was a perfect opportunity to take some photos of one of the new outfits I got for Christmas. I have wanted a new leather skirt for a while and was really excited to receive this pastel pink leather skirt from H&M. My scarf and necklace were also Christmas gifts and all went perfectly with a white tux shirt I had re-worked.  

I've a feeling this skirt will be making an appearance quite a lot in 2013. I was also given a pastel blue cat print shirt from River Island for Christmas which will go perfectly with this skirt (can be seen pictured in my last post). I haven't had a chance to wear it yet but as soon as I have an opportunity I will take photos. 

Ta ta!

ALL IMAGES WERE TAKEN BY MIKE DAVIES AND ARE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT.

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THANK YOU!

Hello 2013!

Hello 2013 and welcome to my first post of the year!

We are only 5 days into the year and I have been rushed off my feet already. Molly is still on her Christmas holiday, so it has been difficult to get any real work done. Although, it has given me the chance to have a good deep clean everywhere,  sort through things. You may have noticed that the blog has had a revamp. It was definitely time for a change. Plus, I wanted to give it a new header for some time now. Do you like the new changes?

Left to Right: H&M Lace Dress // Mirabelle Owl Necklace // H&M Leather Skirt & River Island Cat Shirt // Matalan Bird Scarf // H&M Sequin Dress // Kate & Aud Clock Necklace // Kate & Aud Charm Necklace // River Island Cat Shirt // H&M Lace Dress

I received so many lovely garments over Christmas, that it made me realize that I don't have any space to hang them. The time has come for me to be ruthless and relieve my bulging wardrobe by getting rid of a lot of things on Ebay. I had hoped that I would return to my old body shape after having Molly, but 3 years has passed and I have come to terms with the fact that I just need to accept my new shape and start looking after myself more. These realizations have formed the basis for most of my New Year resolutions. In order to stick to them this year, I've told myself if I write about it on here, I'll have no choice but to abide by them!

So, here in no particular order, are . . .

Hooting Miss Owl's 2013 resolutions

1. Get fit. The older I'm getting, the harder it's going to be for me to get fit. I have made a promise to myself to try and do some kind of exercise, at least once a week (currently I do zilch). 
2. Stop smoking. I really shouldn't be smoking, especially as I have a little girl, but it helped me get through some stressy situations last year. I'm not a heavy smoker, but even having 2 cigarettes a day I can tell it's having an effect on my health.
3. Eat healthier. I love baking but unfortunately this can have bad consequences for your waistline and hips. Before I was pregnant I was a (UK) size 8 which has now steadily rised to a (UK) size 14. My ideal size would be a 10 and I think with good exercise and just being more aware about what I'm eating will help me achieve this. I am currently on 'Day 4' of my new diet and it seems to be going well so far. I have replaced my usual 5-10 cups of coffee a day with green tea and have omitted sugar from all hot drinks. Mr D and I enjoyed a very healthy dinner of beetroot couscous and baked haddock last night. It was delicious! I have recorded my weight from "Day 1" as 10.7 Stone (68 kilos). According to the NHS this means I am slightly over-weight for my height (5ft 2), so it's definitely time to tone up and tighten up those wobbly bits!
4. Learn at least one new thing this year. Last year I taught myself to crochet and it's now one of my favorite past times. I haven't decided what it is yet but I would like to learn at least one new skill by the end of the year. Any suggestions?

I will be recording my process here on my blog and any tips on how to achieve my goals are most welcome. And what about you? Any resolutions you want to share?


Big love!
AKA Hooting Miss Owl

ALL IMAGES ARE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT.

PLEASE ASK FOR PERMISSION BEFORE USING.

THANK YOU!